World Doll Gone With The Wind

‘It’s not that there aren’t good people in the world. It’s that the bad ones are so much easier to find.’ A teen mother raises her daughter on a looping road trip, living hand-to-mouth in motel rest stops and backwater towns, stepping occasionally into the heat and chaos of the surrounding cities. A life without permanence, filled with terrors and joys, their stability is dependent on the strangers—and strange men—they meet along the way. But what is the difference between the love of a mother, and the love of a friend? And in a world with such blurred lines, where money is tight and there’s little outside influence, when does the need to survive slide into something more sinister? ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

When I first started at Serenity Hills, the head nurse told me coma patients paid well—but the job was messy and brutal. They could only get IV nutrition. Screw that up, and you're basically killing them. Today was day thirty of looking after the girl. Young. Gorgeous. Like always, I hit the nurse's station to grab her IV bags— But then I saw it. Thirty glucose bottles gone. IV nutrition? Still sealed. Chills shot down my spine.

She is the loner, the outcast, and the bully's favorite target at school. When she become a young heiress of a noble house, everyone has to lower their heads in her presence. Now, she's back at school to let her bullies kneel before her! ~~~ After being bullied and an outcast for many years, Sydnee find out that her true mother is a noblewoman and she is a young heiress of a noble house. Her stepfather, the Duke, bring her to his household and train her to become a true heiress. However, her mother seems to dislike her so much and prefers to adore the adopted double-faced girl Catarina. Whatever she'll do, her mother will always be bias towards Catarina, and even support Catarina's plan to take her inheritance and usurp the position of Dukedom's heiress. But she, Sydnee, has promised herself to never back down from the fight to inheritance! Gaining the king's favor? Being a teacher's pet? It's easy to achieve. Even stirring the power factions in the capital is as easy as pie for her! This little white mice is not her opponent at all!

After dating him for five years, my boyfriend, Jayden Porter, sends me 10 dollars. He asks me to buy our future matrimonial home with that money. That same day, he transfers 3 million dollars to his dream girl, Lina Doux, to buy her a grand detached villa in Centralis. I decided to break up with him out of frustration, but he accuses me of being greedy for money. "Your house is still livable, so why buy another one? When did you become such a gold digger?" "Lina and I are childhood friends, so what's wrong with me giving her money? "On the other hand, you're scheming to get your hands on my wealth despite us not being married yet. I'm so disappointed in you!" He turns around and proposes to Lina. Six years later, we encounter each other again in the werewolf kingdom based in Centralis—the Darkmoon Kingdom. He's about to become Centralis' Beta. Lina is by his side, wearing a haute couture dress. When he sees me covered in mud and rummaging through trash, he mocks me with disgust, "You looked down on 10 dollars back then, Emily Everhart, but now you're digging through trash cans like a beggar. "Do you think you'll be able to earn money by selling scraps? Even if you put on a sorry act in front of me, I won't show you any pity!" I glance coldly at him and continue to search for my pup's favorite ring. I had unknowingly discarded it like common trash. My pup, Cassidy Holstrom, is incredibly upset about it. As such, I have to find it quickly to cheer her up.

My childhood friend said that he was connected with the doll. Now that he had lost it, he called me up to cry. One hand held my phone as I consoled him, while the other toyed with the doll. His voice began to take on a more interesting tone with my purposeful touches… I squeezed and pinched the toy and comforted him, “Shh, I agree with you. Whoever took your toy is a terrible person…”

In the Philippines, there is a well-known and commonly practiced superstitious belief called pagpag, loosely translated as "to dust-off." One should never go home directly after visiting a wake or a funeral, because the ghost of the deceased might latch on and cause hauntings or attract evil. Now, where can Filipinos pagpag and lead spirits astray? It could be anywhere: a restaurant, a mall, that house down the street where your toxic ex lives… but usually, people opt for 7-Eleven convenience stores and nobody knows why. Follow the story of Akira Basilio: a part-time staff who mans the Luntian Street 7-Eleven on Thursday and Friday nights, which sounds completely normal; except Akira had the ability to communicate with the dead. She maintained a quiet life by keeping her sixth sense a secret from both the living and the departed, until a particularly persistent spirit flips everything into chaos when he entangles Akira in a hunt for a murderer.

“You don’t mean anything to me,” he spoke dangerously, the tips of his fingers curling in my hairs as he jerked my neck back. “A mere toy that I’ll use whenever I want,” a breathless whimper escaping my lips. “Leave me-“ “Or what?” His lips stretched into a wide grin. “Tear me with your tiny claws?” He backed me into the wall behind me and leaned in closer, his grey eyes pierced my soul. “Remember, Amara, you exist solely for my pleasure.” He pulled my hair harder and my flesh burned the moment he nuzzled his face into my shoulder. I bet he could hear my heart beat accelerating with passing breath. His other arm circling to wrap around my waist, my heart pounded when his strong sandalwood essence in-filtered my senses. “Rhys-” “Shh…and for your punishment, I want you to bend over the wall and lift you skirt.” ****

In Kingdom where women and girls are thrust into a life of bondage to be used as pleasure dolls for men and rich folks who could afford to buy them, a young, innocent girl of fifteen, green in life finds herself looking toward this life, with horror stories of dolls echoing deep in her heart, leaving her green eyes wide with terror. Then fate strikes and she finds herself in the path of another, though in a different path, but shares the same fate. A life in bondage. She has been made one of the most powerful woman in the kingdom, not through her making, but by the greediness of a mother, and the ambition of a father. She is the twelfth wife of a cruel old King, who kills his wives without hesitancy at the failure to produce a male child. Their path intertwine at the wedding ceremony, indoctrinating the young black haired beauty into her new life. They were not looking for it, but love came knocking on their door. It is frowned upon, it is an abomination, if found out their lives is at stake, but these young women couldn’t resist the calling of their heart. Is love worth all the hell they would go through?

Dodging scandals after scandals is Corelle Tatiana Villafuerte's expertise. Hindi madaling panatilihing maganda at malinis ang reputasyon niya lalo pa't kilalang heneral ang kanyang ama. Gagawin niya ang lahat para sa kagustuhan nito kahit pa labag ito sa kanyang kalooban. Ngayo'y tila nakawala siya sa pagpapanggap nang malaman ang katotohanan. Who would have thought that her strict and disciplinarian father is part of a criminal organization? The tables have now turned. She wants to give him a piece of his own medicine, so she sets foot to reveal everything — but everything has a price. She's been kidnapped, held captive, and threatened. By who? The billionaire she can see in magazines, television, and billboards! Who turns out to be the mafia underboss! The man whose sparkling diamond stud, scar cuts, tattoos, and dark suits can blind her. Instead of killing her, he offered to make her his doll. Someone he can dress up to flaunt, display, and play with. After all, he needs a wife to earn the respect of the other mafia boss. Without knowing how messy it could be, she went straight ahead and enjoyed the privileges of being the billionaire's doll. Pero doon lang ba nakabatay ang halaga niya? Sa karangyaan na kayang ipalasap ng binata? Will she remain cherished? Or will the billionaire throw her away when he's finished with her? Is that all she'll ever be? His doll?

Amara Sandiego Villaroel is a loving wife to Davin Villaroel— the hottest bachelor of the town, but she just a secret wife. With so much love she gives to her husband she's ruined. She does not know what is missing from her... and what happened to their relationship. And their tomorrow's ... gone.